I look in the mirror
At a real piece of work
And I thank God
That genius recognizes genius
Sharing more than mere image
I am more than the sum of the images that you can make of me. If you can’t see the genius in this, then there isn’t much I can do about that. The same as is with genius is with God. Defining God is like trying to define pornography. As one judge once famously said, “I can’t define pornography, but I know it when I see it” –Justice Stewart in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 US 184 (1964).
Some may cry out “Hubris!” This poem’s assertion may strike some as arrogant, lacking in humility. However, humility is a double-edged sword. Humility is not only about not making yourself out to be bigger than you are. Humility is also about not making yourself out to be smaller than you are. Humility is about right-sizing yourself — you might even say righteousness. To look at God’s obviously unfathomable creation and assert that it is only as it appears, is hardly a Kodak moment worth the film it is imprinted upon!
I will go a step further. For those daring to contend that there is an inner self, then some may see this as merely about inner and outer worlds. Endless images of the outer world cannot capture the inner aspect within me. True. Nevertheless, I contend that I cannot even fathom the real piece of work that I am! There is part of me of which I cannot make sense, cannot be defined. It is beyond me, transcendent. Yet I know it when I see it. I find it wholly. And I stand dumb, humbled. I want to share more than mere image. Yet I can see if you don’t see it.
